Holidays are Hell
Holidays Are Hell (2007) — Anthology * Part of the Hell Anthology series Genre and Sub-Genres Urban Fantasy / Sci-UF (one story) Theme Supernatural Holidays gone wrong Editor and Authors Editor: Kim Harrison Contributors: Kim Harrison (UF), Lynsay Sands (PNR), Marjorie M. Liu (PNR-UF), Vicki Pettersson (UF) Description Cover blurb: This holiday, spend quality time with family and loved ones—living and dead . . . There's no place like home for the horrordays—unless you'd prefer a romantic midnight walk through a ghost-infested graveyard . . . or a haunted house candlelight dinner with the sexy vampire of your dreams. The (black) magical season is here—and whether it's a solstice séance gone demonically wrong with the incomparable Kim Harrison, a grossly misshapen Christmas with the remarkable Lynsay Sands, a blood-chilling-and-spilling New Year's with the wonderful Marjorie M. Liu, or a super-powered Thanksgiving with the phenomenal Vicki Pettersson, one thing is for certain: in the able hands of these exceptional dark side explorers, the holidays are going to be deliciously hellish! Spernatural elements Witch, spirit, weird science, necromancer, vampires, shape-changer (whatever shape visualize), Chinese folklore, Buddhist spiritual aspects, agent of Light, Buddhist spiritual aspects List of Stories Synopsis by Story "Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel" by Kim Harrison This story looks into Rachel's past, when she was eighteen, fresh out of community college, and determined to recover from her childhood of severe illness and to get a job working for Inderlander Security. Her brother Robbie is in town for Solstice Night, and wants her to go back to west coast with him and go to a four year college to continue her Earth Witch studies. Rachel isn't interested. Her life is in Cincinatti. They make a deal that if Rachel can raise her father's ghost and he will agree to her going into the IS, and sign her permission slip, then Robbie will support her decision. In the process, Rachel raises the spirit of Pierce, a male witch who was working for the older version of IS, tracking a vampire who preys on young girls. ❖ —— Two things have defined Rachel’s life so far. The first is her debilitating illness that, though in remission, still leaves her weak. The second is her burning desire to follow her dad’s footsteps into the IS, the paranormal policing organization. But the first directly affects the latter, and no one in her family believes she’s strong enough. To prove them wrong, she performs a very advanced spell, trying to raise the ghost of her father, the one person she knows would support her in this endeavor. The results are a surprise for everyone. ❖ "Run, Run Rudolph" by Lynsay Sands Readers were introduced to Lynsay Sands in the Bite anthology, which features the prequel to this story, featuring a machine that can transform people’s molecular structure, allowing them to assume the shape of anything they want. Jill, sister to Kyle, our previous hero, is babysitting her new niece when she is accidentally zapped, forcing her into the same predicament as her brother. But she’s not going to let it stop her from playing Mrs. Claus to Nick’s Santa. Not when she’s fantasized about this guy next door for months. Not when she pulled strings and favors to get this part in the annual Santa Claus parade just to spend more time with him. Unfortunately, it turns out the accident isn’t really accident, and someone is very interested in Jill’s new abilities. ❖ "Six" by Marjorie M. Liu The heroine, Six, is a police officer who was trained from a young age to be an invincible fighter. She has no life outside of her work, and suppresses her longing for anything more beneath cold, hard determination. Her whole body is a weapon, and she knows how to use it. The hero is a necromancer, and they are fighting vampires that are straight out of Chinese folklore. ❖ Six is part of China’s first all female elite terrorism fighting squad. Trained as a weapon since childhood, she knows nothing but her own strength and honor. She’s not afraid, not of anything. Until Joseph shows up and introduces her to things she’d never even imagined, both evil and good, and shakes up her well-ordered life. Though she’s never trusted anyone outside of her squad before, Six finds herself drawn to Joseph. Against the backdrop of Chinese New Year celebrations, the two fight for their lives, and each other. ❖ "The Harvest" by Vicki Pettersson Zoe has sacrificed everything for her children and grandchildren. She gave up immortality, her supernatural abilities, and her role in life to protect them and keep them alive to fulfill their own destinies. So she’s not going to give up now, even if it means going to her most beloved enemy Warren to ask for help. Of course, given their history, and Zoe’s perceived betrayal, Warren might not be so inclined to help Zoe recover her kidnapped granddaughter from the Shadows. And now that she’s mortal, he’s going to be even less inclined to let her help with the rescue. ❖ ~ Sources: * Holidays are Hell, romance readers.com * Goodreads readers Cover Artist Artist: none listed Publishing Information * Publisher: Harper * Book data: Paperback, 374 pages, Pub: Oct 30-2007, ISBN-0061239097 Cover Blurb There's no place like home for the horrordays—unless you'd prefer a romantic midnight walk through a ghost-infested graveyard . . . or a haunted house candlelight dinner with the sexy vampire of your dreams. The (black) magical season is here—and whether it's a solstice séance gone demonically wrong with the incomparable Kim Harrison, a grossly misshapen Christmas with the remarkable Lynsay Sands, a blood-chilling-and-spilling New Year's with the wonderful Marjorie M. Liu, or a super-powered Thanksgiving with the phenomenal Vicki Pettersson, one thing is for certain: in the able hands of these exceptional dark side explorers, the holidays are going to be deliciously hellish. ~ Goodreads | Holidays Are Hell ~ Goodreads See also List of Anthologies External Links Book: *Holidays Are Hell (The Hollows, #5.5) by Kim Harrison ~ Goodreads *Short Stories from Hell series by Kim Harrison ~ Goodreads *Bibliography: Holidays Are Hell ~ Publication Listing ~ ISFdb *Holidays Are Hell by Kim Harrison, Marjorie M Liu, Vicki Pettersson and Lynsay Sands ~ FF Author sites for book—excerpts: *Kim Harrison's Holidays are Hell *Lynsay Sands - Books - Holidays Are Hell *Browse Inside Holidays Are Hell by Kim Harrison, Vicki Pettersson, Marjorie M. Liu, Lynsay Sands Author Pages for Book: *Kim Harrison's web site Series pages: *Goodreads | The Hollows series by Kim Harrison *Goodreads | Signs of the Zodiac series by Vicki Pettersson *Goodreads | Short Stories from Hell series by Kim Harrison Author Websites: *Kim Harrison's web site *(5) Vicki Pettersson FB — and — Vicki Pettersson (VickiPettersson) on Twitter *Marjorie Liu *Lynsay Sands - Best Selling Author Author Goodreads pages: *Kim Harrison (Author of Dead Witch Walking) *Marjorie M. Liu (Author of The Iron Hunt) *Vicki Pettersson (Author of The Scent of Shadows) *Lynsay Sands (Author of A Quick Bite) Misc: *Kim Harrison - Summary Bibliography *Kim Harrison Book List - LoveVampires.com - The Site Dedicated To Vampire Fiction Reviews: *Review: Holidays Are Hell Anthology | All Things Urban Fantasy - Where Para is NormalAll Things Urban Fantasy *Holidays are Hell | *Holidays are Hell, an anthology | Urban Fantasy *The Symposium » Holidays are Hell by Kim Harrison et al *WildDog's Book Reviews: Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel by Kim Harrison. From Holidays are Hell Category:Anthologies Category:Magic Users Category:Ghosts and Spirits Category:Weird Science Category:Vampires Category:Necromancers Category:Werewolves and Shifters Category:SciFi-Urban Fantasy Category:Shape Changers, Adaptors… Category:Asian, Hindu Mythology